Get Ready for Rise of Skywalker Hype

Not that Episode IX needs a lot of hype. It is, after all, the end of a 40-year saga we all can’t wait to see. Now that we enter the 90-day realm before the opening, expect the hype to start ramping up. Look at it like a fireworks show. You get the bright beginning, then there’s the bigger blasts in the sky mixed in with some smaller ones, then on to the finale. Well Star Wars fans, the finale is coming and this should be when it starts. Let’s explore three recent items about the new movie.

Get some face time Kylo’s repaired helmet

What… is repairing Ren’s Helmet???

Fans can expect a trickling effect start to become a flood here shortly. Let’s start with Kylo’s repaired helmet. The last time we saw it on screen, it was a pile of scrap on a turbo lift floor. It seemed Kylo was done hiding behind his mask, but then we see in the first Episode IX trailer a pair of furry little hands fixing it back up. Now, Star Wars Insider magazine shows us the finished job, along with a legion of First Order troops behind it.

Art promo from Star Wars Insider magazine

Masks in Star Wars are like light sabers. There’s a lot of them, they’re all different, and each one has meaning. In the comics, we learned that Sith masks can be possessed by their wearers. Kylo Ren is not a Sith, but there is a pretty powerful one returning in this movie. Is that the significance of the rehabbed mask? Is Palpatine going to use it to take over Kylo?

Some fans have complained that Ren should not have removed his mask in the first film; that it diminished his villainous role. Think about it… Vader was terrifying because you never saw under the hood. Then you get a glimpse of his mangled cranium in Episode V sitting in his hyperbaric chamber. Then when it all came off in the end of Episode VI, he was humanized as the tragic hero/villain he was.

Kylo Ren with Vader’s melted mask from Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Kylo may have given us the human side too early. It was easy to hate him in the first 20 minutes of the film with the village massacre and the murder of Lor San Tekka. Either way, the mask is fixed and back on his noggin for Episode IX. Maybe now he’ll come into the villain role he was destined for.

Did the Star Wars artwork reveal a new character, or bring back an old one?

Take a closer look at that image. Star Wars has a bevy of caped crusaders, from Lando to Vader. Capes have been a symbol of either style or significance, and they usually don’t give them to just anybody. This new artwork shows a caped trooper with what appears to be a flame trooper helmet, and holding a blaster that looks an awful lot like Phasma’s. We all saw her take a long walk off a short, fiery pier. Did Phasma survive?

Star Wars: Episode IX may have a new Storm Trooper Captain in the mix

Getting cooked in Star Wars doesn’t mean you die. Vader was flambe’d on Mustafar and made it into a career-changing event! Perhaps Phasma did, too? Or is this a new menacing trooper captain we haven’t met yet? Big screen Commander Pyre, perhaps? I’ve seen other sites and comments dismiss this as a new snow trooper, but why would a single snow trooper stand out in this artwork? There’s just something about that cape…

Hamill’s been tweeting about Star Wars again…

Finally, there’s a cryptic (yet not-so-cryptic) tweet a few days ago from Mark Hamill, himself:

Whatcha’ tryin’ to tell us here, Mark?

Only one problem Mark… October 9th is a Wednesday, not a Monday. Monday, October 7th Monday Night Football will feature the San Francisco 49ers vs. The Cleveland Browns. He is famous for trolling the internet and riling fans up over little things, so this could be a big nothing-burger. But it could also be a typo…

There’s only been one Episode IX trailer and a blurb at D23 about this movie. We’ve had plenty of time to dissect those. Our guess is there is about to be a new trailer drop. That’s unconfirmed at this juncture, but it is high time for a new one. Other internet sources think the October 14th game between the Lions and Packers will see a new Star Wars trailer debut. In either case, it follows the previous pattern of big releases, so why not. The Force Awakens trailer released October 19, 2015, and The Last Jedi trailer released on October 9th, 2017.

Watching Monday Night Football on a Wednesday, are you?

I don’t want to fall for one of Hamill’s pranks, but I think I’ll watch that October 7th game anyway. Are you ready for a new trailer? When will we see one? Sound off, and let That Hashtag Show know your thoughts!

For more Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker news, previews, or any other pop culture news, check back to That Hashtag Show.

About The Author

Parks and Rec Programmer by day, writer by night! Outdoorsman, historian, author, woodworker, falconer, and lover of all things Star Wars. And before you ask... yes, working at Parks and Rec is just like the tv show, only crazier.
Debut novel, "Code Name: Augustine" due out by Spring 2020. Check it out!